Month: May 2009

In politics, the rule is simple: dump your worst news on Friday, the later the better. As for holiday weekends, the preceding Fridays are littered with the disclosures of countless matters with which you’d never want your name associated. The Warriors — luckless in all other matters — finally caught a break with the timing of the Flunkster Dude story. Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, however, and many fans continue to seethe about the disclosures of last week. The franchise may try to “no comment” the comment story into oblivion, but the anger over the Warriors’ (mis)treatment of their fans doesn’t appear likely to disappear anytime soon.

Thursday afternoon the Warriors held a phone conference with season ticket holders, finally putting Robert Rowell in a position to hear what at least a few fans really thought. It was not “no holds barred” by any means, but Rowell and new GM Larry Riley were confronted with a few tough questions. They whiffed on some, squirmed on others, and coughed up a few surprisingly candid answers along the way. For a management group that has essentially been in hiding since Cohan was greeted with boos at his own All-Star game, it was a step away from isolation and towards some sort of dialog with its long-term fanbase. Then the Warriors PR director left an anonymous comment on warriorsworld.net praising the team’s outreach efforts. It was a classic Warriors’ moment: one small move forward, one big slide back.

By Tuesday evening, the Warriors will know whether the basketball gods (or those Trilateral Commission members responsible for rigging the last 31 NBA seasons) have graced them with one of the top three picks in the 09 draft. Once the ping-pong balls stop bouncing, the course of the team’s off-season will likely be settled. Here’s how I see the various scenarios playing out:

I wanted to wait a few days to let the dust settle before tackling a final evaluation of Mullin’s tenure and departure. An evaluation of Mullin is almost entirely distinct from breaking down whether Larry Riley will be good for the team as GM, so it’s worthwhile creating some breathing space between the two issues. I’ve gone back and forth all week (all year actually) on where I come down on Mullin’s performance. Here’s where I’ve settled: By letting Mullin go, the Warriors lost an undeniably crucial symbol — of winning, of relevance, and of professionalism in the league. That loss will color the franchise’s moves for the foreseeable future. But when it comes to Mullin’s on-the-ground decision-making, his record is at best mixed and inextricably linked with the team’s current struggles and the forces behind his departure.

Last summer the Warriors handed out over $200 million in contracts. This summer, it will be major news if the team hands out even 1/10th of that amount. While there are only a few scenarios under which the Warriors could be even marginal players in this year’s free agent market, it’s worth breaking down where we stand cap-wise to understand the full implications of what last summer’s Maggette and Jackson signings did for our flexibility. Granted, cap space is no guarantee of anything, particularly when you’re a franchise with a reputation like the Warriors. But if you’re going to kill your cap flexibility — as the Warriors have — I’d certainly like to have a bit more to show for it.

The Warriors kicked off the 08-09 season without a point guard. Six months and five guards later, they still lacked a point guard. The final batch of Warriors players receiving grades didn’t fare well in the exercise, partially from their own doing, and partially because of a system that repeatedly attempted to force square pegs into round holes. The Warriors — ideally a running, slashing team distinguished by a relentlessly attacking offense — needed nothing more on the offense end than a player capable of pushing the ball, reading the defense, and making high-percentage choices. They found several players that brought one or two of the skills to the court, but no one offered the complete package. On the edge of the 09-10 off-season, we’re once again looking for that elusive guard that can transform five men into more than the sum of their parts.